Gambiaj.com – (ABUJA, Nigeria) – Gambian jurist Justice Awa Bah has been sworn in as one of five new judges of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, taking up a four-year, non-renewable mandate on the regional judicial body.
Justice Bah was sworn in on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, alongside judges from Benin, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo at a ceremony presided over by Senegalese President and Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, at the ECOWAS Commission.
Her appointment gives The Gambia representation on the ECOWAS Court at a time when the regional institution continues to play an important role in adjudicating disputes involving citizens, member states, and ECOWAS institutions.
The five new judges are Désiré Henri Aihou of Benin, Justice Awa Bah of The Gambia, Charlyne M. Brumskine of Liberia, Henrietta Uzoamaka Didigu of Nigeria, and Yaouza Ouro-Sama of Togo.
They were appointed by the ECOWAS heads of state at their 69th Ordinary Session in Lungi, Sierra Leone, on 19 July 2026, under the revised rules governing the Community Court of Justice.
The December 2025 Supplementary Act requires ECOWAS Court judges to be independent nationals of member states with the qualifications required for appointment to a Supreme Court or equivalent judicial institution. Candidates must also have recognized expertise in international or community law and at least 20 years of professional experience.
Before assuming their responsibilities, the judges are required to take an oath of office or make a solemn declaration before the ECOWAS Authority chairman.
Justice Bah and her colleagues replace the outgoing five-member panel whose four-year terms have expired: Justices Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves of Cape Verde, Sengu Mohamed Koroma of Sierra Leone, Dupe Atoki of Nigeria, Gberi-Bè Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire, and Edward Amoako Asante of Ghana.
The new judges are expected to elect a president and vice-president from among themselves for two-year terms once they assume duty.
Justice Bah’s appointment places a Gambian judge at the center of one of West Africa’s key regional judicial institutions, whose decisions form part of the wider ECOWAS framework for regional integration, rule of law, and access to justice.
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